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Sarbani Basu wins 2018 George Ellery Hale Prize

January 11, 2018

The American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division has awarded the 2018 George Ellery Hale Prize to Department of Astronomy professor and chair Sarbani Basu.

The prize honors outstanding contributions to the field of solar astronomy. Holly Gilbert, chair of the AAS Solar Physics Division, said Basu received the award “for her many seminal contributions to our understanding of the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun and stars.”

Basu studies the Sun using solar oscillations, or quakes. Just as seismologists use earthquake date to study what happens in the interior of the Earth, Basu has used quakes to determine the structure and dynamics of solar interior — the part of the Sun that is hidden from view.

“I feel honored to be selected for this prize,” Basu said. “The list of prize winners includes many of my scientific role models, and to be counted among them is extremely gratifying.”